Performance evaluation of a ground-source heat pump system utilizing a flowing well and estimation of suitable areas for its installation in Aizu Basin,Japan

Development of a ground-source heat pump (GSHP) system with higher efficiency, and evaluation of its operating performance, is essential to expand the growth of GSHP systems in Japan. A closed-loop GSHP system was constructed utilizing a flowing (artesian) well as a ground heat exchanger (GHE). The system was demonstrated for space-heating and space-cooling of a room (area 126.7 m²) in an office building. The average coefficient of performance was found to be 4.5 for space-heating and 8.1 for space-cooling. The maximum heat exchange rate was 70.8 W/m for space-heating and 57.6 W/m for space-cooling. From these results, it was determined that a GSHP system with a flowing well as a GHE can result in higher performance. With this kind of highly efficient system, energy saving and cost reduction can be expected. In order to assess appropriate locations for the installation of similar kinds of GSHP systems in Aizu Basin, a suitability map showing the distribution of groundwater up-flowing areas was prepared based on the results of a regional-scale three-dimensional analytical model. Groundwater up-flowing areas are considered to be suitable because the flowing well can be constructed at these areas. Performance evaluation of the GSHP system utilizing the flowing well, in conjunction with the prepared suitability map for its installation, can assist in the promotion of GSHP systems in Japan.     

Long-term measurement of temperature variabilities off Mindanao Island by the ocean acoustic tomography

Oceanic variabilities off Mindanao Island, Philippines where the North Equatorial Current branches into the Kuroshio and the Mindanao Current were measurerd for a period from 14 Feb.–1 Jun. 1992 by the oceean acoustic tomography (OAT). From the beginning of April, the travel time of acoustic rays propagating over a horizontal distance of about 250km, through the depth range of 80–4700 m around the underwater sound channel began to decrease, implying a warming of water. This variability was also confirmed with the results of temperature measurement at the sites where a sound source and receiver were located. The TOGA/TAO array data show that the OAT experiment was done when the 1991–1992 El Nino was at a decaying stage and the resulting warming-up of water occurred at the western Pacific. This study provides us a first evidence of ENSO-related variabilities detected by the OAT.     

Mesoscale eddy effects on temporal variability of surface chlorophyll a in the Kuroshio Extension

We investigated the relationship between chlorophyll a (Chl-a) concentrations estimated from satellite observations and the activity of eddies in the Kuroshio Extension region. High (low) area-averaged Chl-a concentrations were frequently observed in the core of cyclonic (anticyclonic) eddies. Such relationships between Chl-a concentrations and eddy cores were not frequently observed in the southern part of the recirculation gyre, and advection of background meridional gradient of Chl-a by eddy-edge currents accounted for Chl-a spatial variability. Decadal-scale changes of Chl-a concentrations around the Kuroshio Extension were strongly affected by eddy activity and transport but not by large-scale near-surface isopycnal heaving. We also found that decadal changes of nutrient concentrations near the main stream could affect Chl-a concentrations in the southern part of the recirculation gyre via southward transport of eddies and mean flow.     

Dirunal variability and its quantification of subsurface sound scatterers in the western equatorial Pacific

A downwardf-looking acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP), suspended by a series of surface and subsurface floats and connecte to an anchroed ship, proided a quite stable platform to measure the, vertical profiles of backscatter strenght *BS) and three components of the velocith from 12 to 22 November 1992 at 1°30S and 156°15E, in the Intensive Flux Array (IFA) of TOGA/COARE. While the variability of the horizontal velocity was controlled by the semi-diurnal tide, BS and vertifal velocity were dominated by diurnal variability probably caused by the diel migration of zooplakton. The downward migration occurred early in the moring (0500–0700 in local time) and the upward one late in the afternoon (1700–1900). The average values of about 4 cm s^–1 for the sinking and rising speed were estimated from Doppler shift and BS isopleth displacement. The subsurface chlorophyll maximum (SCM) coincident with the top of the thermocline at 80–100 m was also detectable in the BS data during daytime when almost no migrating zooplankton remained in the upper 300 m. Backscatter signals from the SCM and thermocline were separated by corrlating the BS data with the chlorophylla and temperature data. The maximum contribution of the migrating zooplanktion, passively drifting phytoplankton and temperature gradient on BS was estimated to be 14.8, 7.0, 5.1 dB, respectively.     

Regional climatic effects according to different estimations of biogenic volatile organic compounds during the asian summer monsoon

A series of 60-year numerical experiments starting from 1851 was conducted using a global climate model coupled with an aerosol-cloud-radiation model to investigate the response of the Asian summer monsoon to variations in the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) flux induced by two different estimations of biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions. One estimation was obtained from a pre-existing archive and the other was generated by a next-generation model (the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature, MEGAN). The use of MEGAN resulted in an overall increase of the SOA production through a higher rate of gasto-particle conversion of BVOCs. Consequently, the atmospheric loading of organic carbon (OC) increased due to the contribution of SOA to OC aerosol. The increase of atmospheric OC aerosols was prominent in particular in the Indian subcontinent and Indochina Peninsula (IP) during the pre- and early-monsoon periods because the terrestrial biosphere is the major source of BVOC emissions and the atmospheric aerosol concentration diminishes rapidly with the arrival of monsoon rainfall. As the number of atmospheric OC particles increased, the number concentrations of cloud droplets increased, but their size decreased. These changes represent a combination of aerosol-cloud interactions that were favorable to rainfall suppression. However, the modeled precipitation was slightly enhanced in May over the oceans that surround the Indian subcontinent and IP. Further analysis revealed that a compensating updraft in the surrounding oceans was induced by the thermally-driven downdraft in the IP, which was a result of surface cooling associated with direct OC aerosol radiative forcing, and was able to surpass the aerosolcloud interactions. The co-existence of oceanic ascending motion with the maximum convective available potential energy was also found to be crucial for rainfall formation. Although the model produced statistically significant rainfall changes with locally organized patterns, the suggested pathways should be considered guardedly because in the simulation results, 1) the BVOC-induced aerosol direct effect was marginal; 2) cloud-aerosol interactions were modeldependent; and 3) Asian summer monsoons were biased to a nonnegligible extent.     

Timing of Himalayan ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism: sinking rate and subduction angle of the Indian continental crust beneath Asia

Coesite relics were discovered as inclusions in clinopyroxene in eclogite and as inclusions in zircon in felsic and pelitic gneisses from Higher Himalayan Crystalline rocks in the upper Kaghan Valley, north‐west Himalaya. The metamorphic peak conditions of the coesite‐bearing eclogites are estimated to be 27–32 kbar and 700–770 °C, using garnet–pyroxene–phengite geobarometry and garnet–pyroxene geothermometry, respectively. Cathodoluminescence (CL) and backscattered electron (BSE) imaging distinguished three different domains in zircon: inner detrital core, widely spaced euhedral oscillatory zones, and thin, broadly zoned outermost rims. Each zircon domain contains a characteristic suite of micrometre‐sized mineral inclusions which were identified by in situ laser Raman microspectroscopy. Core and mantle domains contain quartz, apatite, plagioclase, muscovite and rutile. In contrast, the rim domains contain coesite and minor muscovite. Quartz inclusions were identified in all coesite‐bearing zircon grains, but not coexisting with coesite in the same growth domain (rim domain). ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U zircon ages reveal that the quartz‐bearing mantle domains and the coesite‐bearing rim were formed at c. 50 Ma and 46.2 ± 0.7 Ma, respectively. These facts demonstrate that the continental materials were buried to 100 km within 7–9 Myr after initiation of the India–Asia collision (palaeomagnetic data from the Indian oceanic floor supports an initial India‐Asia contact at 55–53 Ma). Combination of the sinking rate of 1.1–1.4 cm year^?1 with Indian plate velocity of 4.5 cm year^?1 suggests that the Indian continent subducted to about 100 km depth at an average subduction angle of 14–19°.     

Preliminary study of rain effects on radar scattering from water surfaces

Preliminary wave-tank results indicate that radar scatter from water surfaces is severely affected by rain at low but not at high wind speeds. The effect is governed by both the rain rate and droplet size. A simple experiment to check this phenomenon is described.     

Observation of mixed Rossby-gravity waves in the Western equatorial Pacific

During the IOP (Intensive Observation Period) of TOGA/COARE (Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere/Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment) from December 1992 to February 1993, four Japanese moored ADCPs (Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers) measured vertical profiles of three-component velocities at the stations 2S (2°S, 156°E), 2N (2°N, 156°E), 154E (0°N, 154°E) and 147E (0°N, 147°E). Power spectra of the surface current showed a pronounced peak having a period of around 14 days for both the zonal and meridional velocities at the stations 2S and 2N near the equator, and for only the meridional velocity at the equator. This 14-day phenomenon is considered to be a kind of equatorial wave of the first baroclinic mode, from a comparison of the result of the vertical mode analysis and the vertical distribution of the standard deviation of band-pass filtered velocity fluctuations. A dispersion relationship obtained from the horizontal mode analysis of this wave confirmed that the 14-day phenomenon is a mixed Rossby-gravity wave with the westward propagating phase speed and eastward propagating group velocity. From the cross-spectral analysis of velocity data, the average phase speed and wavelength of the wave were estimated as 3.64 m s⁻¹ and 3939 km, respectively, for station pair 2S∼147E. These values were in good agreement with the average phase speed and wavelength of 3.58 m s⁻¹ and 3836 km estimated from the dispersion curve and the observed period. A northerly wind burst blew over all the mooring sites during the middle of the observation period. The mixed Rossby-gravity wave, which is anti-symmetric for the zonal velocity about the equator, is likely to be forced by this northerly wind burst crossing the equator. Generation of the oceanic mixed Rossby-gravity wave of the first baroclinic mode is discussed in association with the atmospheric Rossby wave having the same period.     

Pipe–soil interaction for segmented buried pipelines subjected to dip faults

This paper describes an investigation of pipe–soil interaction equations suggested by currently used pipeline seismic design codes and the applicability of these equations to segmented pipelines. The results of computer‐aided analyses were compared to results obtained in full‐scale experiments on a segmented ductile iron pipeline 93 mm in diameter and 15 m in length. The pipeline was installed 600 mm below the ground surface in a sandy soil compacted to two different subgrade reaction values. The type of fault considered was a reverse fault with an intersection angle of 60° with the pipeline, and the fault movement was a total of 350 mm in three same steps in the fault trace direction. The findings of this study demonstrate the necessity of considering the nature of soil behavior in pipe–soil interaction equations and the effects of connection joints on the integrated response of pipelines to fault‐induced ground deformations. A new combination of equations constituting a direction‐wise selection from among the equations proposed by currently used guidelines is introduced as a new series to describe pipe–soil interaction for segmented pipelines and is verified using the results of full‐scale experiments. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.